Auburn Pharmacist Spotlight: Stephen Davis

AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala. – Periodically, the Harrison School of Pharmacy will highlight one of its students, faculty members, staff members or alums. This month, we will feature Stephen Davis.

Stephen J. Davis, a member of the Harrison School of Pharmacy Class of 2008 was recently honored by the Auburn Alumni Association, Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Development as one of 14 recipients for the Black Alumni Weekend Awards Program. Davis is currently in his fifth year as the Pharmacy Operations Manager at Texas Children's Hospital.

Little did Stephen Davis know that a rotation early on in his fourth year of pharmacy school would end up setting him on a path to hospital pharmacy.

Now in his fifth year as the Pharmacy Operations Manager at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, he was recently recognized with the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists Pharmacy Leadership Award.

“One of my first rotations was a pharmacy administration rotation at the University of South Alabama Medical Center,” said Davis. “During that rotation, I was able to understand the role of hospital pharmacists and technicians. I enjoyed reviewing patient charts, medication profiles, and labs as a student pharmacist and I also loved working with physicians and nurses within the hospital setting.”

A 2008 Harrison School of Pharmacy graduate, Davis went on to complete a two-year MS/PGY1/PGY2 Health System Pharmacy Administration residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. While there, he also earned a master’s degree in Health-System Pharmacy administration from Pitt.

From there, he was hired on with Texas Children’s Hospital. Initially, he managed the outpatient and emergency center pharmacies. He currently manages the inpatient central pharmacy and is also the director of the MS/ PGY1/ PGY2 Health-System Pharmacy Administration Residency.

In addition to his work at the hospital, Davis has been very involved with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists (TSHP) and the Gulf Coast Society of Health-System Pharmacists (GCSHP). He also currently serves as the treasurer for GCSHP.

“I have always wanted to impact the profession of pharmacy in a positive manner and involvement in local, state, and national pharmacy organizations gives me the opportunity to make decisions that are impactful and positive for the profession,” said Davis. “I am also passionate about staying involved in these organizations to assist in ensuring that we, as pharmacists, have up to date continuing education so that we can provide optimal patient care.”

With TSHP, he is a member of the educational affairs council, the group responsible for coordinating all continuing education functions sponsored or conducted by the TSHP. This includes guidance and assistance in programming and funding TSHPs educational and training activities, including the Annual Seminar, other forms of continuing education, and other related activities that may be identified by the Board of Directors.

While Davis didn’t discover his passion for hospital pharmacy until his fourth year, he encourages current pharmacy students to get informed early on if they think they may be interested.

“It is very rewarding working in a hospital. The other departments in the hospital rely on pharmacy since we control the medication verification and distribution process,” said Davis. “Pharmacists are vital to hospitals and are necessary when it comes to patient care. I would tell a current pharmacy student to try to gain some type of hospital experience prior to their fourth year so that they can be better prepared to make a decision about their pharmacy career path prior to graduating.”

While it has been a few years since Davis has been back to Auburn, he has very fond memories of his times at HSOP.

“I honestly haven’t been back to Auburn since 2010. I actually feel bad saying that because I love Auburn,” said Davis. “I feel as if Auburn graduates have a love and pride about their school. I did tell my wife, who loves Auburn, that I would love to plan a trip to Auburn soon so that our daughters can see the campus.”

While in school, Davis was involved with SNPhA and Phi Delta Chi, and it was close-knit relationships from those organizations and his classes that stand out to him.

“What stands out the most is how close our pharmacy class was,” said Davis. “I keep in contact with many of my classmates on Facebook. I remember pulling all-night study sessions with several classmates, but I also remember looking forward to the experience of pulling the all-night study sessions. It was stressful, but fun now that I can look back on it.”

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About the Harrison School of Pharmacy
Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy is ranked among the top 20 percent of all pharmacy schools in the United States, according to U.S. News & World Report. Fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the School offers doctoral degrees in pharmacy (Pharm.D.) and pharmaceutical sciences (Ph.D.) while also offering a master’s in pharmaceutical sciences. For more information about the School, please call 334.844.8348 or visit http://pharmacy.auburn.edu.

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Last Updated: April 29, 2016

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